If it is something like Hand, Foot and Mouth a 50/50 mix of Maalox and Benadryl swabbed on the sores should help.

We don't travel for the holidays. When we do travel it is for 3 weeks at the absolute most and that is pushing it (and I have great inlaws). I wouldn't do 4 weeks with family unless I had my own space.

I would drop the nursing to sleep at night before the nursing back to sleep when he wakes up too early. Both are nursing to sleep and I would rather have the fight (if there is one) at the end of the day than in the middle of the night when I am sound asleep. You might get lucky and when he gets used to falling to sleep without nursing he will easily fall back to sleep without nursing so you won't realy have to wean him from that second feeding. When we did it I offered a special cup of water that my girls each got to pick to replace their bedtime nursing access (sippy cup with a hard spout, one kid picked cinderella, the other little einsteins). I switched their bedtime routine up as well so they didn't miss it as much. We went from rocking and nursing to laying in bed together reading then I would sit and rub their back for a bit while they had their "special" cup (which they got to sleep with). It took about a week for them to get used to the new routine but we stressed that they were big and it was a special privilege to get a cup and a back rub.

My oldest daughters name is very easy to pronounce if you pay attention and follow standard phonics rules but very few people do. It is a name that I personally had never heard before and does not appear in the social security top 1000. She will answer to a few different pronunciations that are fairly close and it doesn't really phase her. The shortened version of her name which we generally call her when we are out uses a short vowel sound and many people switch it to a long sound when calling her by name. She will answer to either and has never complained about it.

It looks like it would be great fun in the beginning but I don't even want a dog because they are too much work (I hate to clean up poop). The idea of that many animals for the rest of my life makes me a bit shaky.

We've done it twice and had no problems at all. I think it really depends on your pet. Our (very large) dog was easy going and nothing phased her. She was also quite used to her crate. When we flew from the east coast to HI (18 hours with a layover) she came bounding out of her crate upon landing ready for the next adventure. The other dog on that flight didn't fare nearly as well. It was medicated for anxiety and had gotten sick in the air. The owners had to have it transported to the vet immediately upon landing. If you decide to do it there are certain airlines that are better than others to fy with pets. We used Delta as that is the airline we have FF status with and it was fine but I know there are others that are preferred.

It changes every year. Right now number of gifts is most important to them (and keeping it even) but I'm sure that will change. This year for our oldest it will be around $150 for her birthday and $300 for Christmas. She doesn't want much except for a Nintendo DS but that gift with a game or two will be $200. We will also get her some books, a couple of toys that I think she will like and an art kit or two. Our youngest will be around $100 for her birthday and around $200 for Christmas since the big gift she has been asking for (the mushroom playhouse on the magic cabin cover) was on sale on Amazon last week. This doesn't include stocking stuffers which I pick up as I see things throughout the year so that I don't have to scramble at Christmas. We ony buy for our kids and immediate family (parents/siblings) plus for someone whose name we draw in the extended family which helps.

I don't mind if it's on my way (or close) but most people don't ask since I don't really allow snacking in my car (too many bug problems here) and I require PROPER car seats for any kid I drive.

I haven't read all the replies but here is my take on it... We just kind of knew our oldest would be considered gifted. She is EXACTLY like me and our interactions have been challenging at times since we both tend to push and expect to get our way. I do not have good memories of my early education (even with the CTY summer programs and enrichment opportunities) and as part of agreeing to homeschool (at least for now) we had some initial testing done. Our second was very different from the first personality wise but hit all early milestones (up to talking) at exactly the same chronological age as her sister. She did not talk as early but would communicate through gestures and her own words to her sister for translation. We actually thought she might wind up a bit behind until we had her evaluated for speech articulation at 2 1/2. I stepped out of the room and she yelled to me "Will you please tie my laces?" I couldn't understand since I didn't have any visual cues so after repeating herself once she simply rephrased it to "Will you please fix my shoe?" so that I would understand and come help her. The evaluators were a bit floored and let us know that we might be judging her abilities a bit quickly because she wasn't following her sister's curve. We have no plans to test her now, and I don't believe she would test as highly as her sister, but I am sure she would test quite high thanks in part to genetics.

4

My girls were given hand me down American Girl dolls when the oldest was 4 and they have been fine with them. We just explained that they are special dolls that have to be treated carefully and played with only in their room. The dolls are still in excellent condition and my older girl loves to play with them and act out their stories. The only problem we have found is that the matching clothing isn't available in small sizes. As far as breakable accessories go we just haven't purchased any. We bought a bed for each doll and some odds and ends but none of the overly fancy outfits and no tea sets or sets with tiny pieces.

I am assuming it is either the 5 or 6 year old in your sig line. Kids at that age are impulsive and still learning right from wrong, I can completely see my 5 year old doing something like that even though she knows in her head it isn't right. He gave it back, you are going to have him write an apology letter and (I'm assuming) have explained to him why it isn't okay to take things that aren't yours. I hope the teacher can act like an adult and not hold a grudge against him. He is a young child who has learned his lesson and deserves to be forgiven (I would feel differently if he regularly pocketed things but it doesn't sound like that is the case).

Does he know what he wants to do when he moves into the workforce? If you can figure out what he might want to do long term and start focusing on the skills that will help him in those pursuits maybe he will feel better about what he is working on.

I would make him take it back to the camp director and apologize. If he can't take it back (you are far from camp or it is closed) I would make him write a letter of apology and mail it back (paying for the postage).

I would say you start officially homeschooling when you start requiring your child to do school. We taught our oldest to read and basic math last year but it wasn't required, just something fun to do if she wanted to. She turns 5 at the end of this month and could attend K so we are now requiring her to sit and do a bit of work so now we are homeschooling (not just being parents).

Our almost soon to be 3 year old loves the wii. She can play the Dora and Diego games independently and the princess game with a bit of help (we also have an almost 5 year old who has been playing all three independently for about a year). She can also handle wii sports and enjoys mario racing even though she usually goes the wrong way and crashes constantly.

Nope, because it wouldn't be acceptable to me if my husband walked into the house one afternoon and let me know he had quit his job. I would think that if you quit when he has asked you not to you will just be exchanging the marital issues caused by your stress for marital issues caused by his stress. Have you taken the time to write out a budget, both current and projected if you were at home? If he can see what your finances look like in black and white he might be more comfortable with the idea. Also, could you try living without your income for a 3-6 month trial period? Keep out the money for any expenses you incur as a direct result of working (so daycare but not lunch, since you would eat anyway, etc) and then bank the rest. At the end of the trial you can sit down and discuss how it went and address any concerns he might have then feel free to give notice with a clear conscience.

I don't have a problem saying no to anyone but myself. I seem to have delusions of still being able to go to bed at 2am and bounce back up ready for the day at 6. And I never learn when it doesn't work (I am typing while stirring two separate things, one for a potluck tonight and one to drop off at my husband's office because I felt like making it but don't want to eat it, thank goodness for nap/quiet time).

We use my grandmother's recipe, 50/50 honey and lemon juice warmed a bit and taken by the teaspoonful.

At 5 1/2 months I would bet she still needs to nurse once while you are gone. In another three months or so though the cereal and a bit of fruit/veggies would be enough with a cup of water.

Ask to speak to the manager or supervisor and then explain to them (very clearly) that you are not interested and do not want to be called again. It doesn't hurt to throw in the fines associated with violating your request (and sign up for the do not call list).

My husband is a staff officer in the Navy and they don't get actual points either. I meant more of an extra check mark in the promotion column when the promotion board is weighing a record. In his field you are guaranteed to do a sea tour at O1 and O3. After that you can generally work it to retire without any additional deployable billets or you can ask to be considered for additional sea time which almost guarantees you O5 and is almost necessary if you want to make O6. My husband will be asking for the extra sea tour but that the payoff to that is worthwhile to us. He won't be asking for any extra IA's.

At 5 1/2 months I would say no (at least not a fancy one). If you nurse right before you leave and immediately upon return you are only missing 1 feeding (and by 9-10 months probably not missing even one because that could be when you fed solids). I'm not sure I would sink the $250 or so into a good electric pump. When my girls were little I got the Avent Isis so I could have the occasional bottle and it worked great for $35.

Honestly, I would say no. Deployments are very hard on the kids and they didn't choose this life. I wouldn't choose to put them through back to back deployments and a year without their dad. We never know for sure when he will get sent out next so we protect the time we have together as best we can. If there was a solid reason for the deployment (promotion points, duty station of choice, favorable IA...in the Navy taking one gets you out of the IA loop for a certain amount of time, etc) then we would have to sit down together and weigh the pros and cons.

Do you have any trees in the yard? You could hang 50 bats made out of cardstock.